


Angel With A Shotgun

by nowjkjkjklololol



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:21:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23122411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nowjkjkjklololol/pseuds/nowjkjkjklololol
Summary: I was literally inspired to write this piece by “Angel With A Shotgun” by The Cab. Akuroku-centric, better summary to follow. Expect this one to get long 😅
Relationships: Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

It was time for a new assignment; a process that had long become ritual rather than exciting or interesting. Another human had been identified as a possible target for the Other Side. A Guardian would be sent forth to protect them and to try to steer them to a path that would keep them out of the hands of the Seekers of Darkness. The Guardian would join in battle if they must, would forsake their eternal life and heavenly seat if their duty called for it, in the name of the battle between Light and Dark that had been waging for almost as long as human existence had.

Roxas and his brother Ventus had both been accepted into the host of Guardians just over five hundred years ago, now. For the most part, it had proven to be exceptionally dull; nothing like the fierce battles he’d thought he’d be waging. For the most part, he just kept some troubled human from killing themselves or signing their soul over in an act of stupidity. Occasionally, he’d have to reprimand a Seeker of Darkness for coming too close to his target, but for the most part they ran in fear the second he revealed himself. It was...boring. A new human target would not make the monotony any less. It never did anymore.

Ventus was supposed to be here by now, Roxas couldn’t help but notice as the Master of the Guard approached his position with a scowl. Cloud was one of the oldest and most respected of the Heavenly Guard, and accepted nothing but perfection from those under his command.

“Roxas,” the senior angel called sternly as he drew near, “where is your brother? He was scheduled to receive a new assignment as well, was he not?” Roxas shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to answer, when he was spared from the hard glare of his superior.

“I’m here!” Ventus called, dropping down from flight to where they were waiting. He was panting, as though he’d pushed himself hard to make it in time. “Sorry. So sorry.” Cloud raised an eyebrow at the second arrival, and the withering look shifted away from Roxas. 

“And where is it you have been that has kept you from your most important of duties?” the older angel asked imperiously, causing Ventus to visibly flinch.

“I was...I just...” Ventus began blushing furiously, looking anywhere but at the larger blonde, and Roxas had to stifle a groan. Oh no. “I was human-watching. Lost track of time.” Roxas closed his eyes with a tiny, chagrined smile dancing at he corners of his lips as Cloud’s eyes narrowed and he was off, lecturing about the responsibilities of a Guardian and how it should be taken with great seriousness. Roxas would never quite understand his brother’s love of humanity. Sure, he could see the beauty in their creation, but their seemingly endless mistakes and self-sabotage made them seem so pathetic, helpless.

When Cloud had finished giving Ventus a very long-winded speech about his responsibilities, he turned with a sigh and beckoned for the twins to follow him. Then he led them into the open courtyard typically used for ceremonies and departures, referred to as the Gateway of Light, before he turned to face them, standing proudly.

“Ventus, Roxas, you have both been blessed with a new assignment, one that will aid us in the struggle between Light and Darkness. You are being asked to protect, to serve your calling and your Lord, and to weild the powers of a Guardian with grace, determination, and judgement. Ventus, do you accept?” The blonde next to Roxas nodded, as did Cloud, who passed him a small scroll which would contain the name of Ventus’s charge. Then, the Master of the Guard turned to Roxas, holding out another scroll. “Roxas, do you accept?” He nodded, took his scroll, and then followed Ventus to the landing from which they would depart. Cloud stopped them just once more before they were released. “Then by the powers that have been gracefully given to me, I bless you both in the name of our Lord, and wish you safe passage and a successful guard.” Ritual complete, Cloud nodded once more and left them.

“Who’d you get?” Ven asked eagerly as soon as their superior was out of earshot, already unfurling his scroll. Roxas watched as Ventus’s eyes unfocused for a moment after he’d read the name; a Guardian angel bonded with their charge for the duration of the human’ life span, and once that scroll was opened, there was no going back. He would know where his charge was, if they were sick or injured, and that would be a part of him until the human had died and their soul departed for judgement. “Ooh, I got a male this time!” His brother’s excitement and joy at receiving his target was lost on Roxas, who sighed deeply.

“Might as well get it over with,” he mumbled, unrolling the parchment. In clear, elegant script was a name; ‘Axel Brantley.’ Then the link came like a howling wind, rushing into him and filling him and _defining_ him, however temporarily it might last. It was a man, an adult, generally healthy, living in a place the humans called ‘Radiant Garden,’ drug and alcohol habits, smoker, currently pissed off for reasons unknown to the angel. _Axel._ Roxas let the name roll around in his head, trying to get a feel for it, and then finally met Ven’s eager gaze.

“Mine’s named Terra,” his brother offered with a pleased smile. Roxas looked away, off the landing and towards earth.

“Axel,” he supplied, and then threw himself off the landing, enjoying the feeling of hurtling towards the ground for a few long seconds before unfurling his wings. He felt the tug, deep in his bones, and he changed his angle to aim his descent towards the person that now felt like home even when he had no such thing of his own to compare it to.


	2. Chapter 2

A snarling, swinging, heavily inebriated Axel was shoved unceremoniously out the doors of the bar and onto his ass in the grimy street. He sprang to his feet, stumbling for the bouncer who had tossed him out, but was met with a slammed and locked entrance.

“Yeah, well fuck you too!” he shouted, slurring slightly, “Throw that little punk out here, then, so I can finish what I started!” Axel received no answer, and since it was pushing two in the morning, there were no new patrons that the bouncer needed to open up for. Bastard. The tall, lanky redhead pushed himself away from the building, staggering towards the parking lot behind the building. He spent a good ten minutes searching the small lot, becoming increasingly frustrated and angry, until he remembered that he’d walked there after work and his car was several blocks away. Axel snarled, furious, before making his way back to the sidewalk to start his journey to his vehicle.

Thirty minutes later, and Axel was completely lost and beginning to lose the ability to keep going. He’d taken a wrong turn quite some time ago, but was familiar enough with the area that he’d thought he’d be able to find his car if he just guessed which way to go; that had been a mistake. Now he was in an even darker, dirtier section of town and was fast approaching blackout. His steps staggered more often than not and he found himself leaning against walls and doorways that he passed, trying to get the damn world to stop spinning around him. It wasn’t helping, though, and twice when he’d been leaning against something, he blinked and was almost unable to open his eyes again. It was late enough there was absolutely no foot traffic on the streets so there was no one to ask for directions, and he was pretty sure he’d lost his phone in the fight he’d gotten into at the bar. 

Axel finally gave up after taking another turn and winding up facing a brick wall where the alley dead-ended. Luck was never on his side. He leaned against the wall and let his jelly-like legs collapse underneath him, sinking down until he was sitting with his back against the bricks and his head in his hands. It was fairly cool out, and once he was no longer moving it felt like it got even colder. The alley itself was rocking like the deck of a boat on turbulent waters, and the redhead only had a second to lean as far as he could from his resting place before he was emptying the contents of his stomach violently onto the pavement. _Great._ Head spinning, Axel pushed himself back to sitting and hung his head low. His mind was drifting, floating, spinning, darkening. There was a second where he saw something that looked like glowing yellow eyes approaching him in the darkness, and he closed his stupid, failing eyes against the sight, and-

Axel woke up with a pounding in his head and bright light filtering in through his window. He groaned, grabbing the pillow from behind his head and shoving it over his face to try to block out the light. What time was it? He looked on his nightstand and then in the pockets of the pants he was still wearing, but his phone was nowhere to be found. The harder Axel tried to remember when he saw it last, the more of his memories from the previous evening began filtering in. He’d hit the bars after a shitty day at work, gotten well and truly wasted, then...he’d gotten into a fight with some punk at the bar, gotten thrown out, he sorta remembered that part. After that...nothing. He was just now realizing he had absolutely no clue how he’d made it home at all, let alone in one piece. Had he gone back for his car? With a groan and a sharp wave of agony, the redhead rolled himself out of bed and staggered to the window, squinting against the sunlight to look out at the parking lot; his car was conspicuously missing from his numbered space. 

“Fuck,” Axel muttered aloud, shoving the curtain back into place irritably before heading to his bathroom. He grabbed a couple Tylenol, washed them down with water from the sink, and then cranked on his shower as hot as it would go, glaring at his own reflection while he waited for the water to heat up. No car, no phone, no way to call an Uber to take him to get either. He really just couldn’t catch a break. 

Water finally hot, the redhead quickly undressed and jumped in, letting the shower’s spray beat down on stiff muscles. Man, he felt like absolute shit. He tried to force his brain down the hazy path of memories he couldn’t seem to access, but try as he might, nothing came to him after heading to the parking lot. Did he take a ride home from someone? That would explain how he made it here with no car. Heat and steam began to soothe the beating inside his skull, and he sagged against the shower wall for a long time before he finally washed and then got out. 

As he got ready, Axel decided there was no way in fuck he was going to walk all the way to the bars or worse yet the further distance to his work. He’d knock on doors to borrow a phone if he had to, but he was not making that kind of trek at whatever-time-it-was in the morning with a hangover. He grabbed his wallet and keys and shoved open his front door aggressively, only to regret it as the middle-aged woman who lived across the hall jumped with a nervous gasp at the sound. She quickly recovered herself, however, and turned to him.

“Oh! I’m glad to see you’re doing better than you were last night, dear,” she said kindly before turning back to lock her door, as she was clearly leaving her home when Axel had surprised her. “It’s a good thing your friend was so strong; I’m surprised he was able to help you get inside.” Axel stared at her blankly.

“Friend?” he asked in confusion, trying to figure out who would have come to his rescue. The woman smiled kindly. 

“Oh yes, he was such a dear. I think he left you something,” she said with a nod towards his doormat, at which point Axel spotted the white corner of a paper or envelope sticking out from under it. “He even helped me carry in the baked goods I was picking up to donate from my car before he left. Such an angel.” The woman bustled away with a cheery wave and farewell, leaving Axel to snatch up the note from his mysterious savior. The note had neat, precise, and completely unfamiliar handwriting, and the contents only further added to the redhead’s bewilderment.

_’A driver will arrive before noon to take you wherever you need to go to find your car.’_

“What the fuck,” he muttered to himself, opening his front door again and returning to his apartment. Some sort of good samaritan had found him and taken him home, then. Whatever, at least he wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment of facing the person who’d seen him completely trashed and needing help. He threw himself down onto his couch, putting an arm over his head and deciding to snooze until the promised driver arrived.

Unfortunately for him, he’d woken up later than he’d thought, because it felt like as soon as he’d begun to drift off again, there was a loud knock on his door. He groaned, then pushed himself back up and to the door. Axel opened it to reveal a petite, spunky-looking dark haired woman, who grinned at him.

“Hey, I’m the Uber driver. You Axel?” she asked, and her cheeriness made the redhead wince as his head throbbed.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he muttered, pulling out his keys and stepping out to lock the door. She beamed as she made room for him, then led him to the car.

“Perfect! I’m Yuffie. I’m supposed to tell you that the trip was scheduled on the phone of someone at the bar you were at last night because apparently they have your phone? But I’m supposed to be taking you to your car.” Axel stared at the back of her head, beginning to be irritated by how little he seemed to know about what happened. Why the fuck would someone at the bar take care of his trip after he’d been thrown out? He frowned as he entered the vehicle, and then sat quietly while the girl continued talking for the entire drive about apparently anything that crossed her mind. They made it to his work quickly, and Axel thanked the enthusiastic driver before leaving her car and heading for his own.

He paused with a hand on the car door as a thought occurred to him suddenly; how had the driver known to take him here? No one at the bar knew him, and this random good samaritan didn’t, do how did they know to have the Uber set to arrive at this location? That made him uneasy, although he supposed maybe he could have mentioned it...but he’d gone to the bars to _forget_ about work so that seemed unlikely. Axel shook his head, scowling deeply, and then got into his vehicle and started it up. He headed straight for the last bar he’d been at, muttering to himself the whole way.

When he arrived at the place, there were only two people inside that he could see; a single customer at a table near the kitchen having lunch, and a lone bartender wiping out an empty glass with a vacant, bored expression. When he saw the redhead enter, however, he set down the glass and rag with a smirk.

“Well, well, well. You did make it back alive. Congratulations.” Axel felt himself bristle at the man’s tone, but kept himself in check and offered the pierced, blonde bartender a harsh smile as he made his way over.

“After how your bouncer said ‘goodbye’ to me, I wasn’t expecting the bar to send a car this morning,” he sneered, leaning against the counter. The bartender laughed pleasantly, giving him a look.

“Oh don’t worry, we hadn’t planned on it. You have your little blonde friend to thank for that,” the man’s smirk grew pointed, but Axel was too surprised to get angry. The blonde again? Who was this guy?

“No friend of mine, I have no idea who he was.” At that, the bartender looked more interested than ever.

“Is that so? Then you’ve got someone looking out for you. He came in after you’d left with a stack of cash, told me to schedule you a car and give you his note, said the money was for the Uber plus any damages from your fight, and that the rest was a tip for my inconvenience.” From the man’s smile, Axel could tell he’d probably choose money over convenience more often than not. “I liked him. He’s welcome back, if he’s actually old enough to get in here.” Axel raised an eyebrow at that.

“So where’s this note he left? And my phone?” the redhead demanded lazily, and the bartender chuckled. 

“One moment,” he said before heading to the end of the bar, where Axel saw him reach into a cubby before returning with the contents. Then the handed over the redhead’s phone and one of Axel’s own business cards. The redhead took them, and his confusion must have been visible on his face because the man smirked. “Turn it over.” Axel did as he was told and there on the back, in the same precise handwriting as the note at his place, were the words, ‘please stay safe.’

“I’ll give you a hundred bucks and my word that I won’t start another fight in here if you’ll point him out to me the next time you see him,” the redhead mused distractedly, almost missing the bartender agreeing as he stared at the little card and reread the message several more times, wondering who had gone to all that trouble for a stranger.


	3. Chapter 3

Vanitas puffed away on a cigarette, one of the many things he enjoyed from the mortal realm, as he leaned against a tree and watched the crowds of people on campus milling by. Sure, he knew where the human with the promising scent of darkness was, but it was fun to play with the lesser souls, too; his job was to catch big fish, but it wasn’t like he was gonna get in trouble for bringing home smaller ones as well.

The air was crisp, and scents drifted easily to his sharp nose, but none was he more eager to follow than the darkness within mortal hearts. The Seekers of Darkness were bred for their ability to track it and hunt it and use it, amplifying it and shaping it until it consumed his prey. Vanitas was the top of the pack with the keenest senses and the best record, and was given the best targets to hunt. Not only that, but he had the rare gift of the ability to tune in to human thoughts; he could say the words the human most wanted to hear to lure them into his hold. Even the stupid Guardians knew to be fearful of him.

Vanitas let his eyes drift shut with an easy smile as his nose got to work. There were the faint whiffs of the normal hints of shadows within the hearts of those that passed, and there was obviously the distractingly heavy trail leading towards the nearby history building; Vanitas tried to ignore both and searched for a small but potent pocket. He located one after only a moment, and opened bright, golden eyes to identify his target. It came in the form of a pair of girls, one more potent than the other but both feeding off each other. He grinned maliciously as he pushed himself away from his spot and sauntered with purpose towards the pair.

The girls were talking too each other, gossiping viciously about a mutual friend, and the vitriol stemming from them was absolutely _delicious_. He ran a hand through his dark, unruly spikes of hair as he stepped up to them, playing up roguish good looks with a playful smirk.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he greeted them lowly, gaining their attention at once. He had picked the name of their rival out of their conversation before and used it now, “Have you seen Jennifer, by any chance? I recognize you from her Facebook, and I was hoping you could help me out.” The girls shot each other a look before the darker girl gave him a lingering once-over, and her crude and overly-sexualized assessment had him grinning darkly with pleasure.

“How do you know Jennifer?” she asked rudely instead of answering, and her friend giggled at her side. Vanitas made a point of looking over each of them slowly, licking his lips as he noted their pupils enlarging fractionally. Too easy.

“I’m her older brother, I’m visiting for the week,” he supplied, slipping his hands in his pockets as he shifted even closer. “I’m not surprised she didn’t mention me to you, though.”

“Why’s that?” the friend asked shrilly, giggling again, and Vanitas bared slightly-too-pointed teeth in a suggestive grin. 

“She never introduces me to her hot friends. She gets _so_ insecure when I fuck them.” Both girls broke into laughter at that, though the friend’s was more nervous than the maliciousness emanating from the darker girl.

“Is that an offer?” she purred, stepping closer and laying a hand on his chest; Vanitas could already taste his victory. He arched an eyebrow at her, sliding a hand around her waist to settle at her lower back. 

“Are you two gorgeous gals free for a few hours?” he murmured, turning his hypnotic gaze on the friend, who blushed and stumbled forward as if unintentionally.

“I think we might be able to make some time,” the first girl answered for them even as Vanitas let his fingers brush up the second girl’s arm to her shoulder. “What did you have in mind?” Vanitas pulled her against himself abruptly, spinning her friend into the circle of his other arm.

“I know just the place,” he said in a seductive chuckle, immediately leading them towards a series of vacant classrooms he could sense in a nearby building. They came willingly, needing no further persuasion than an attractive, seemingly off-limits man offering quick and dirty fun. Humans were _so_ weak when offered the right bait.

By the time Vanitas had finished satisfying the pleasures of his mortal form, the human girls were little more than empty shells of their former selves; crushing the fragile bones in their necks was literally just a snap of his fingers. When the jewel-like, heart-shaped souls rose from their bodies, invisible to those from the mortal realm but bright as a star to those who came from elsewhere, he bared bloody teeth in a violent grin as he crushed them in his hand. He felt himself absorb them, holding them for safekeeping until he returned home to his Master. 

It wasn’t until he was strolling back out of the building that he noticed something he would have sensed much sooner had he not been satisfying himself; the disgustingly _sanitary_ smell of a Guardian had crept onto the campus while he’d been preoccupied. That made for a much more exciting afternoon than he’d anticipated, that was for sure. He located the trail of his target and to his displeasure realized the Guardian’s scent was coming from the same direction. He needed to move in and see who it was stepping into his turf. 

Sephiroth, Master of the Seekers of Darkness, had given him this human in particular. He was unusual in that he housed a large reservoir of both light and darkness inside himself, and he would constituted big win for one side and a big loss to the other no matter which way his soul went. Vanitas was too proud of his record and too sure of his talents to let some selfish goody-goody come and get in the way of his hunt.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, whistling jauntily as he headed towards the history building. This was turning into a pretty productive afternoon all around. Scrapping with an angel was just as much fun as physical pleasures with humans, and sometimes even more so.


	4. Chapter 4

Ventus adored his charge from the minute he laid eyes on the tall, handsome brunette. He found the man patiently assisting students with last-minute questions as the majority of his class exited the room after dismissal; he seemed kind, and the light within him was nearly shining in Ven’s appreciative gaze. He could just _tell_ Terra was made for the light; it seemed incomprehensible that he could even house darkness within him, yet somehow he did.

The curious angel had long since hidden his wings, as they were a ridiculous giveaway in the mortal realm, and had clothed himself like any of the other students on campus. He liked to feel like he was a part of his charge’s life, like he was just another mortal who coincidentally had schedules and routes that matched up with his target. He _loved_ the human world and all the fascinating, wonderful things and how deep and intricate each mortal life was. He loved his duty and he loved the opportunities it brought him. He’d never lost a charge to darkness, and he was certain it was because of the love he harbored for every human who had ever been in his care.

Ventus leaned against the wall outside of the classroom door and watched his charge finally finish with the last student before turning to gather his own things. The tall brunette was cheerful, almost excited, as he hurried from the building, and Ventus grinned fondly as he waited a moment before following. He was eager to learn what had his charge in such a good mood; becoming acquainted with his target was always Ven’s favorite part.

When he reached the doors to exit the building, they had just swung shut behind Terra. Yet when Ven pushed against them to make his own way out, they did not budge, and Ventus stumbled straight into them. He laughed with chagrin as he peeled himself off of the door for the benefit of any mortals who had seen. Had he toned down his strength a little _too_ much for the mortal world? He pushed again, putting more of his superhuman strength into the action; the door still did not move. Had it somehow _locked_? Ventus frowned and shoved against the barrier, using enough force that the hinges groaned and the wood began to splinter under his palm. A dark, throaty chuckle drifted hauntingly through the air and then suddenly there was no resistance on the door. It slammed back on its hinges with a booming thud that shook the very framework of the building, and every head in the vicinity turned to stare at the furiously blushing blonde and the devilishly handsome, raven-haired man standing coolly beside the door and smirking broadly.

As soon as he could see the golden-eyed man, it was like a wall had been lifted and the man’s scent and mental presence overwhelmed him with their darkness. This wasn’t just _a_ Seeker, it was _the_ Seeker. Oh, this was not good. By completely obscuring his presence from the angel for so long, he was already showing himself to have the advantage over the blonde.

“Hello, Seeker. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Ventus spat at him despite knowing full well why the demon was there, and the darker haired man laughed. 

“I can already tell I’m going to have some fun with you,” he sneered, stepping closer to the blonde. “What’s your name, Golden Boy?” Ventus didn’t like the way those yellow eyes were staring into him; they looked like they wanted to devour him, and it made his skin crawl.

“It’s of no importance to _you,_ ” Ven tried to scoff bravely, glad his nervously twitching wings were hidden from sight. “I don’t plan on us interacting again. Say what you want and then leave, Seeker. This one’s mine.” The golden eyes seemed to spark with interest rather than intimidation at his bold words, however, and the man slid closer to him.

“Well, I for one think we’re going to be seeing a lot of one another,” he purred, beginning to pace around Ven in an arc. From the berth he gave the angel’s sides and back, the blonde realized with sickening certainty that the other could see his wings through the illusions he had on them. That was...a _really_ bad sign of the Seeker’s abilities. “Shall we make our introductions elsewhere? Or would you like to give these mortals a show?” Ven turned, keeping his enemy at his front, and set his features in a silent snarl at the blatant challenge.

The raven-haired demon winked and then spun to lead him back into the building he had been trying to leave; Ventus followed, glaring daggers at the man’s back. When they’d entered an empty classroom and the golden-eyed male had closed the door behind them, Ventus stretched his wings to their full, impressive span and crossed his arms over his chest. The Seeker should at least be _somewhat_ intimidated, as Guardians were known for removing them as obstacles if necessary, but instead he chuckled and walked right up to the defensive angel, extending a hand.

“I’m Vanitas,” he hummed with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Pack leader of the Seekers of Darkness. I’m a little surprised you haven’t heard of me.” Ventus tried to suppress the nervous movement of his wings; of _course_ he’d heard of the demon, but he didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of knowing it. Apparently he hadn’t done a good enough job, because Vanitas smirked and took yet another step closer, dropping his hand but placing his body in its place. “Ah, you _have_ heard of me. Lovely. Then you must know I’m not going anywhere. Besides, I was here first. I was just...keeping myself entertained until the mortal moved on.” The way his sharp teeth bared in a grin made Ven glad he didn’t know how the demon had been entertaining himself; he shook off the thought and summoned his blade of Light, a key-shaped weapon that he held in a ready stance. To his frustration, the demon laughed.

“Have they just given up on training you lot properly?” he wheezed, clearly referring to Ven’s fighting stance; the angel had always felt more comfortable holding his blade opposite of a traditional fighting position. He growled at the dark-haired man, but Vanitas wasn’t done. “You’re cute. So feisty. Tell me your name.” Ventus had all intentions of refusing, but then something _horrifying_ happened. Vanitas took one final step forward and _touched_ him, barely brushing his fingertips against the blonde’s shoulder, but it came with a burning pain like being set on fire.

“Ventus,” he heard himself bark out even as he wrenched his body away from the intense pain, and stared in shock as Vanitas cackled gleefully. His flesh around the touch still hurt, as if raw, and he yanked up his sleeve to reveal a black, burn-like mark that looked like two sharp-edged lines interlocking to form a heart shape. His jaw dropped as he continued to stare, unable to tear his eyes away. He was... _marked_ , his once perfectly unblemished skin stained by the demon’s touch. The longer the sinister, ringing laugh echoed in the room, the more certain Ven was that it meant something really bad, too.

“Would you look at that. I only meant to compel you to tell me. Guess you’ll be stuck with me for a while, huh, Ventus?” Vanitas turned, still laughing, and moved to leave the room; Ventus found his voice just before the dark haired man was gone.

“What did you do to me?” he gasped, forcing his eyes back to his enemy as he took a stumbling step forward. Vanitas half-turned back with a cruel smirk. 

“They really aren’t making you learn anything anymore. Go ask your handler, I don’t have time to play teacher. I’ve got a job to do.” With that, Vanitas shut the door on the blonde, leaving the stunned angel absently rubbing the mark and trying to imagine just how much trouble he was going to be in.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry quarantine life actually forces me to be LESS of an introvert and I haven’t been able to write as much with irl stuff 🙄

Roxas was deeply confused as to why he’d been given this target. Axel’s reservoir for light must have just been potential, because he rarely seemed to exhibit behaviors commonly attributed to those the Guardians protected. He seemed to have an even amount of space for darkness in his heart; perhaps Roxas was mainly keeping a tool of darkness out of the hands of their foes? And yet...Axel didn’t really seem _malicious_ when he messed with his coworkers or stole small items at the convenience store or got ridiculously drunk every evening. He seemed _chaotic,_ yes, but...from what Roxas observed of his charge, he didn’t really seem to lean in either direction more than the other.

It was driving him crazy. He was supposed to generally care about his charge, yes, but Roxas was grudgingly becoming _obsessed_ with what was going on in the human’s head. Every time he thought he’d finally figured the redhead out, Axel would do something unpredicted and it would change the Guardian’s perception again.

He’d thought Axel lazy; then, the man had worked extra shifts for a week when his coworker’s child had become ill and the coworker needed to stay home. He’d imagined Axel as purely selfish; then he’d seen the redhead give the last of his booze and cigarettes to a young man who’d been homeless that the redhead had encountered near his apartment. He’d imagined Axel as a self-preservationist; then the mortal had gotten into a physical altercation with a much larger male who had laid his hands upon the woman out with him, despite Axel being homosexual from what Roxas could tell. Nothing about him seemed to make sense, and it was like trying to work a puzzle that contained mixed pieces from several boxes. Nothing fit in a way that gave a clear picture.

It was because of this that Roxas began to start acting like Ven, much to his irritation. He’d always tried to watch his charges from a distance, only interacting with them directly when absolutely necessary and usually in the form of an anonymous rescuer. Now, he found himself imitating what his brother usually did; more and more often he made himself look completely mortal and watched Axel as just another face in the crowd. 

He began unintentionally drinking the brewed beverage called ‘coffee’ that most human adults drank in the morning after needing to purchase an item at a cafe Axel had been visiting; that quickly became another obsession of his. Roxas loved it and the strange way it made him feel afterward, and he began consuming it all the time. He also got one of the small telephones that every human seemed to have, and after that spent a lot of time researching human things he wasn’t familiar with or didn’t understand. But mostly...mostly, he just watched Axel.

On this day in particular, Axel had woken up in seemingly good spirits. He’d left his apartment whistling to himself and then had gone to his work. It was a small, neat, almost clinical-looking building, with fabric screens covering all of the windows for privacy and absolutely no indicators of what was inside other than the words ‘The Organization’ on the front door. Roxas had tried to look it up, but found nothing about such a company when he searched. It looked like the sort of place a human would go to only with specific intent, so he felt like he would draw too much attention to himself if he were to wander in off the street’s pedestrian traffic. So he always just waited until the redhead left and then continued to follow him from there. Most days, the redhead would leave the building shortly after ten in the evening, but today it was almost midnight and Roxas could still see Axel’s car in the parking lot.

It wasn’t like he never stayed late at work, but today when Roxas felt for his presence within the building, he was surprised to realize Axel was...upset, and angry. It felt like loss. His very presence tasted bitter.

Seconds later, Axel shoved open the front door aggressively and stormed out, an already lit cigarette hanging from between his lips. He threw himself into his vehicle and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving Roxas shaking his head. He illusioned himself out of human sight and took off after the vehicle, enjoying the stretch of the muscles in his wings. True to his usual form, Axel headed straight for the bars, so the blonde dropped to the ground behind his charge’s now familiar spot. He’d been returning to the bar from which he had left the night Roxas saved him; the blonde assumed it was his usual hangout, a long-familiar pattern the man followed out of long-standing habit. Still...Axel spent so much time there, and watching through the window just wasn’t the same. 

For the first time, Roxas walked around the building and went to the front door; he wanted to get inside before his charge so he would blend in as just another nameless patron when the redhead arrived. There was a large, heavyset man sitting on a stool just inside the entrance who held out a hand expectantly.

“Uh, here,” Roxas said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a receipt from one of his trips to the cafe. He illusioned it to appear to be whatever it was the man wanted to see and smiled when it was returned to him with a nod. Then the small blonde went to sit down at the long countertop along which Axel usually sat after he’d arrive. Roxas was just planning to sit and spend the idle time on his new human phone, but the man on the other side of the counter walked over to stand in front of him.

“Haven’t seen you in quite a while. What are you having?” the bartender asked, and Roxas glanced over the man’s shoulder at all of the unfamiliar bottles spread out along the mirrored wall behind him.

“Uh...your choice,” he murmured hesitantly, unsure of what to say. The man accepted his answer and turned, getting to work over a glass. Roxas watched to see what went into it; a honey brown liquid, something from the soda fountain, some ice. It was set in front of him accompanied by a smile from the man.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” the man said smoothly before leaving to attend to another patron. Roxas stared at the liquid in the glass apprehensively; humans were always so out of sorts after consuming the stuff. But then his head was filled with the still-bitter but blessedly familiar presence of his charge, and he ignored the drink in favor of watching the redhead out of the corner of his eye.

Axel stomped his way to a space further down the counter and all but fell into a stool, immediately pulling out his phone and scowling down at it. The bartender headed towards him with a glass in hand, clearly familiar enough with the redhead that he didn’t need to ask his order. The bartender clearly thought they were out of the range of Roxas’s hearing, however, and leaned forward to speak lowly to the distracted patron.

“That’s seven for yours...plus an additional one hundred and seven on top of that.” Axel made a strangled sound and his eyes flew from his phone to the bartender’s sly smirk, and then his eyes widened and Roxas saw the man’s head begin to turn to look down the length of the bar. Roxas hastily grabbed his drink and took a swallow, trying to look inconspicuous and not like he was eavesdropping.

The seconds that followed completely erased his charge from his mind as the liquid burned his mouth and throat on the way down. He fought to maintain composure and not choke on the harsh liquid, but his eyes watered slightly as he set the glass down with a shaking hand. Once the sting of the liquid had faded, though, a warm, comfortable feeling filled him instead. It was...actually rather pleasant. He looked down at the glass, considering another taste.

“So...hey.” A warm, rich voice broke into his thoughts from right at his side, and Roxas jumped as he was suddenly aware in every cell of his body how close his charge had gotten to him. “Can I sit here?” Roxas slowly turned his face up to see Axel smiling charmingly and indicating the seat next to the blonde. Roxas nodded mutely, unsure of what to say, and the redhead slid smoothly into the open spot. “Thanks,” the significantly taller man murmured, and Roxas turned away and took another gulp from his glass so it wasn’t obvious he was nervous at their proximity.

Axel was staring at him. _Staring_. He was turned in his seat towards the blonde angel, toying with his glass on the counter as he made no attempt to hide the way he was watching Roxas, and finally the smaller figure could take no more of it. He didn’t know how to react to his charge actually _seeing_ him. He took one more large drink and made to stand, planning to leave the bar and give up on the idea of watching Axel as a fellow mortal completely, but-

“Please stay. I haven’t figured out what I want to say to you yet,” the redhead implored, reaching out as if to stop Roxas without going so far as to touch him. The angel turned back, biting his lip as he looked up into vibrantly green eyes focused intently on him.

“Why...would you want to say anything at all?” he asked hesitantly, but he could tell from the smug sense of satisfaction he felt from Axel that the bartender had told the redhead who he was. The mortal let his hand fall away as a wide, attractive smirk settled onto his features, and he leaned in towards Roxas.

“Well, not only did you apparently rescue my ass a while back, but you’re way cute, too.” Roxas felt himself begin to _blush_ , and he blamed the ridiculous reaction on the drink he’d been consuming...which he finished off to give himself a second to think.

“I...uh...I was just...in the right place at the right time, I suppose,” Roxas answered weakly, forcing himself to set the empty glass down. He didn’t feel as in control of himself as he usually was, and shattering the glass accidentally would only add to the attention he’d already brought upon himself. This wasn’t part of his plan.

If Axel noticed how nervous and uncomfortable the petite blonde was, he did an excellent job at ignoring it. He shifted somehow even closer, and the angel was suddenly surrounded by the scents of cigarettes and some sort of spice and the warmth of the human. It was...interesting. Nice. It made him want to lean closer himself, and _that_ surprised him enough that he stopped and sat up straighter instead. 

“You’re my hero,” the redhead purred, then finished his own drink and set the glass beside Roxas’s with a wave at the bartender. “Is there _anything_ I could do to make it up to you?” The hungry way Axel was looking at him and the way his eyes seemed somehow deeper and darker than before made the angel extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t understand why, but the redhead’s obvious implications made something in the pit of his stomach tighten and he felt...unusual. The bartender came over, rescuing Roxas momentarily as he refilled their glasses, but then he left again. Axel picked up his drink, raising an eyebrow expectantly before throwing back a good portion of his second beverage.

“Are you always this friendly with people you’ve just met?” Roxas grumbled, pleased to find his usual sarcasm still readily available despite feeling somewhat cloudy. He sipped on his new drink, no longer even noticing the sting of the alcohol, and Axel laughed.

“No, you’re a special case,” he said, smirking at the blonde. “I don’t often have rescuers I find myself needing to thank.” He winked, and Roxas snorted in a rather undignified way.

“Good to know you don’t need saving very often. What if I’m not around next time?” he asked, teasing the mortal before taking another drink to hide his laughter. Why was he so worried about talking to the man? Axel was fun, and he felt brazenly reckless. He could see why Ven liked to get close to his charges. The redhead laughed again, and the sound was more beautiful than any choir he’d heard back home. How did the human make such a mesmerizing sound?

“Oh, I very much hope you are. Any chance you wanna head back to my place and...get to know one another a little better?” Axel’s smirk grew more pronounced and his eyes seemed to be the only thing Roxas could focus on, but the angel was pleased. That was _exactly_ what he wanted. Then he could figure out his charge with a perfectly reasonable excuse crafted by the mortal himself! It was too easy. He beamed, gulping down the rest of his drink and then pushing the glass away.

“Absolutely,” he said, stumbling a bit as he hopped down from the high seat; his stupid wings must have tripped him up. Axel grinned, standing much more fluidly.

“Follow me, gorgeous,” he hummed before leading Roxas towards the door and out into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Somehow, against all odds, everything had started going his way as soon as he got to the bar. Mysterious savior was finally located. Mysterious savior was a cute, snarky blonde that looked like he’d be fun times. Mysterious savior took him up on the offer to go back to his place before they’d even exchanged names. Maybe it was karma making up for his otherwise terrible day, but he was definitely not complaining now.

The petite blonde practically fell into his car, sitting forward on the edge of his seat as if eager to get going, and Axel definitely seconded the sentiment. His passenger was deliciously minuscule in comparison to his tall, lanky frame, and Axel found himself secretly glad that he knew they checked IDs at the door of the bar or he’d be worried the guy was underage. As it was, he looked way too good for Axel in general, but he’d agreed excitedly when the suggestive offer had been made; and though he was clearly drunk, he seemed sober enough to be in his right mind. And damn did the little blonde turn him on in all the right ways. Seeing those big blue eyes looking up while the smaller man was on his knees in front of him might be his new life ambition.

Axel made it back to his apartment in record time, and jumped out of the car when they got there to walk around and hold the door for his companion. He caught the blonde and steadied him as he tripped his way out of the vehicle, and then in no time at all he was opening his front door and gesturing the other inside. The smaller man looked around with great interest at his messy living room, and Axel chuckled as he sauntered towards his kitchen.

“Are you too drunk for a shot?” the redhead called teasingly as he pulled out a bottle of tequila and a pair of mismatched shot glasses, setting them down on the counter. The short blonde laughed and made his way over to Axel as the liquid was being poured, which the taller man assumed meant ‘no.’ He pushed one of the small glasses towards his guest and picked up the other. “I’m Axel, by the way. Got it memorized?” He smirked widely as the blonde blinked slowly, seeming to just realized they hadn’t shared their names.

“Oh, uh...Roxas,” the blonde offered with only a slight hesitation, and then swallowed down his shot obediently after Axel had tapped their glasses together and drank his own. He was just so _cute_. The unusual name sounded nice in Axel’s just-past-tipsy mind. Roxas looked up at Axel with those big blues and smiled, and the redhead could have jumped him where he stood. Instead, he ambled around the counter until he was at the blonde’s side.

“Well, _Roxas_ ,” he hummed, taking the tiny glass from him and setting it aside, “what would you like to do now?” The smaller man’s smile flickered to confusion for a second before he was smiling again.

“Will you answer a question for me?” he asked, and Axel raised an eyebrow at him before nodding towards his couch and then leading the way towards it.

“Sure,” he said, flopping down onto it and patting the space beside him, which Roxas took. “Go for it.”

“Do you think you’re a good person?” the blonde asked, leaning in curiously and looking up into Axel’s face with an open expression. That one shocked the redhead out of his hazy, hormone-driven single train of thought. He leaned back, matching the blonde’s curiosity with his own expression.

“Why do you ask?” he questioned slowly, but that made the blonde pout at him and shake his head.

“Nope, I asked first,” Roxas grumbled cutely, and Axel laughed again despite himself.

“Ok, fine. I think I’m alright. The stupid, selfish things I do sorta even out when I do decent things. He chuckled again at the thoughtful look that overtook the blonde’s face at that. “Now tell me why.” Roxas looked like he was trying to be careful with his words when he answered.

“I can’t tell which one you are. Usually I’m good at that; figuring out what side a person’s on.” Axel smirked once more, leaning in towards the blonde again.

“Which do you want me to be?” he husked lowly, and he could see a shiver roll through the blonde as his breath touched the smaller man’s skin. “I can be pretty good at being bad.” Roxas opened his mouth as if to reply, eyes huge with some emotion Axel couldn’t quite place, and it became too much work to keep himself in check. A growl rumbled from deep in his chest as he leaned down and captured the blonde’s lips in a searing kiss. The blonde gasped faintly, lips parting, and Axel wasted no time, sweeping his tongue into Roxas’s mouth possessively and eagerly. He tasted sweet, and his lips were heaven; Axel let out a moan that disappeared straight into the blonde as he wound one hand into his short, surprisingly soft spikes of hair. 

He could spend the rest of his life happily doing nothing but making out with the blonde, and that was saying something. Roxas’s lips moving hesitantly against his, sounds that he swallowed up without really hearing them, hands pressed against his chest; Axel would have sold his soul in a heartbeat to feel this forever. And they weren’t even close to the best part yet. His body was desperately eager for what was to come. He felt something deep inside him responding almost instinctively to the man, like his body knew that it belonged to the blonde as much as he craved Roxas himself, and the sheer certainty of _rightness_ was something he’d never experienced in his life. 

The shock of it shook him back to reality, and he realized two things with absolute horror; the hands on his chest were _pushing him away,_ and there were tears shining in the bright blue eyes that met his. _Fuck, what-?_ Axel threw himself back and off the smaller man, who immediately leapt to his feet. 

“I- What- I-“ the blonde stammered, backing towards the front door and looking absolutely terrified. Axel sprang upright, stumbling as he banged his shin into his coffee table in an attempt to pursue Roxas.

“Wait- ah, _fuck_!- wait, Roxas, please don’t-“ Axel tried, but when he’d made it past the table that was between them, Roxas flung himself at the front door, scrabbling with the locks to get it open.

“ _Please,_ ” the blonde begged desperately, and it absolutely broke the redhead’s heart. He approached the blonde slowly, hands up to show he wasn’t going to try anything, when Roxas eventually gave up after not being able to figure out how to get past the swing guard. The blonde spun around, looking panicked and almost _sick_. Was he like, really drunk and needed to puke? He started talking, then, and Axel couldn’t make any sense of it.

“I don’t- What will they do to me? I’ve never even _heard_ of- do they know?” The blonde was mumbling to himself, trembling, and Axel quickly decided that the blonde must have already been drunk before hitting the bar and was absolutely wasted now. Then those big eyes turned up to look at him pleadingly, and his dick twitched in the most unhelpful way. “Do _you_ think I’m a good person?” he whispered softly, and then staggered as he lost his balance standing still. 

Axel reached out a hand to steady the blonde, and then ended up taking all of the man’s weight as Roxas sagged into his arm. The blonde was _much_ heavier than he’d expected, but he managed to maneuver the petite figure down the short hallway to his bedroom, where he deposited the nearly-unconscious man gently onto his bed. Roxas shifted around uncomfortably until he was on his side facing Axel, eyes already closed. The redhead sank down where he was on the floor, sitting with his arms resting on his knees as he watched the fear on the blonde’s face slowly melt away into a peaceful, even expression. Then he was left wondering what in the actual fuck had just happened. 

He wasn’t really too concerned about the blonde’s drunken freak out; he could write that off easily, especially considering his own state when the blonde had first encountered him. No, the part that kept him staring, closely analyzing the sleeping man before him, was the way that he’d felt so _complete_ with the man. Like he really had a heart, despite constantly joking that he didn’t. The fact that he wasn’t even thinking with his dick for once; he was perfectly content to sit on his own floor watching the near-stranger sleep in his bed, even though less than an hour before he’d thought he was about to get laid. That was so ridiculously out of character for himself, and that surprised him, too. As minutes turned to hours, Axel slowly began to drift off, eventually curling up on the floor beside the bed and falling into a heavy slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

Ventus didn’t know what to do. Everything was going so, so wrong, and he was realizing that he was in way over his head. 

He was losing Terra. The brunette had been falling in love with a blue-haired woman on campus, but Vanitas had done _something_ to her, and suddenly she’d dyed her hair platinum and had started being coldly, cruelly harsh with Terra after that. It had left the man heartbroken, and before Ven could figure out what to do to remedy the situation, Vanitas was at it again, taking mortal form in a bar and consoling the stricken man, egging him on when he began to rant about the woman. Ventus could feel the darkness growing within Terra, but it didn’t scare him half as much as the darkness that seemed to be running through his own veins.

The place where Vanitas had marked him had never faded. Instead, as Ven grew more and more hopeless and scared, it grew darker and bolder; a violent inky black against otherwise pale and pure flesh. He didn’t know what it meant, but there were times when he felt flashes of... _something_ through it, some yearning pull that he could not name. It kept him constantly on edge, but he was far too fearful of what Cloud would say and do when his secret was uncovered to go to his superior for help. So he kept at his futile effort to figure out how light could vanquish the darkness even in this seemingly hopeless scenario.

That is, until the night Vanitas started whispering in his mind.

Ventus was dozing off at his perch in a tree outside of Terra’s home when a sinister voice crept into his head, sounding somehow closer than if it had been spoken directly into his ear.

“Sleeping on the job, Venty? Tsk-tsk.” Ventus jumped, nearly falling out of the tree, but managed to catch himself before looking around frantically. The voice laughed. “Are you looking for me? I can tell you’re a little scared.” Ventus snarled, only serving time amuse Vanitas further. “Now you’re mad at me? Ooh, you _are_ fun. Sorry, but I’m not there.” That startled the angel enough that confusion overtook anger.

“What?” he whispered despite the demon’s words, and Vanitas either heard him or understood his thought, because he responded to it.

“Our connection is stronger; I don’t need to be where you are to know what you’re feeling anymore. Think of it sort of like...me gaining the power you have with your charge.” Ventus felt his blood turn to ice at that thought. Vanitas...gaining his powers? _But why? How?_

“Oh, poor Venty. You still haven’t told your masters yet, have you?” Vanitas cooed, voice full of mocking sympathy. Ven wished he could argue against the accusation, but...it was true. He had no words of denial, and Vanitas notes that point quickly. “Man, I am on a _roll_. Alright, here’s a little hint; how well can you feel that mortal that’s tied to you?” Ventus felt himself pale as malicious laughter faded to nothing in his mind. 

Terra had been so unpleasant lately, Ventus had been trying to stifle the frustration emanating from his charge, but now that he reached out for it...it was more difficult, as if the man were at arms reach rather than filling his own being. He was _losing him_. How was that _possible_? The bond between a Guardian and their charge was supposed to last as long as the human was alive! He’d never, ever even heard stories of something like this.

Was something...wrong with him? He looked down at his marked arm, and a yelp escaped him before he could stop it. Small, smoky tendrils were taking form around the outside perimeter of the heart-like shape, a few of them already reaching nearly an inch away from the edge. As if the design were slowly bleeding out into the rest of his upper arm. If he were scared before, he was petrified now. He couldn’t keep ignoring it; he needed help. 

There was only one being he could trust with this secret; with one final, despondent look at the sleeping mortal he was supposed to protect, he unfurled his wings and launched himself skyward, desperately hoping the connection he shared with his brother was still strong enough that he could find his twin. 

Roxas was his anchor; his reasonable, cautious brother would know what he should do. He pushed his wings as hard as he could as he followed the faint thread of light that connected him to his twin, chasing it down as fast as he could in case it disappeared entirely.

He’d made it close, _so close_ , he could feel it. He had flown all night and was absolutely exhausted, but he could tell he was within Roxas’s charge’s home town from how strongly he could feel the other angel’s presence. He could see the sun rising over the horizon. He would find Roxas, and they would figure it out. Things would be okay. Light would win. The darkness...

As if triggered by his surge of hope, a sudden, sharp agony flared to life in his marked arm and shoulder. He yelped, and the surprise and intense pain coupled with his exhaustion to send him crashing down, where he fell from the sky to land on the roof of a parked car, triggering its alarm. His vision swam and then blurred; he didn’t even have time to illusion his wings before he lost consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

There was a horn sounding somewhere nearby, and he knew it was sounding a call to battle for he and the other angels. He tried to fight his way out of the black that surrounded him, struggling with all his might against the thick, blanketing darkness. He _must_ answer the call-!

Roxas opened his eyes suddenly, but still, nothing made sense. He was in a room he did not recognize in the slightest, in semi-darkness, tangled in a blanket in what he thought was a bed? And the horn from his dream was still blaring away, demanding his attention. He searched in the dark quickly for- there, a window right over the bed. He yanked back the covering to see that the early morning sun’s rays were just beginning to stretch over the horizon before his eyes dropped to locate the source of the sound, and his heart stopped when he did.

Clearly, he must still be locked in his nightmare. That was the only possible explanation for why he saw his brother, wings spread limply at his sides as he lay still and peaceful as death on the roof of a car in the parking lot below, which was emitting the sound that was blaring through the quiet dawn. He stared down at the scene, like a modern retake on a classical masterpiece, for a long second before his brain started processing what was happening. That the sound was probably waking up _every mortal_ behind all of the windows he could see surrounding the parking lot. If someone else found Ven first...

Roxas scrambled desperately to get out of the confining blankets, but an illusion only hid his wings, it didn’t remove them. One was caught in the blanket that had somehow also twisted around his heel and when he tried to stand, he instantly fell as he was unable to straighten his leg. He went down with a startled shout, which was followed by a surprised yelp from _someone else_ as his entire weight fell onto the unseen and unexpected other on the floor.

He didn’t have time to let his brain take stock of the situation, as much as he wished he could. If this was a nightmare, it didn’t matter anyways. Roxas rolled away and clawed his way free of the blanket, calling to his companion in the partial darkness as he managed to get to his feet.

“Please, please help me,” he begged, looking for and locating the door and then darting towards it. “I need to get outside.” A very _large_ figure staggered to their feet with a groan right as Roxas managed to get the door open, and the light in the hallway illuminated the pale, angular face of...

The shock of seeing his charge blinking down at him, of realizing he’d been _in the human’s bed,_ stopped him in his tracks for a long few seconds. He realized in horror that he could not remember how he’d ended up in his bedroom, no matter how hard he tried; he vaguely remembered going with Axel to his home so that they could get to know one another, which had been a stupid plan in hindsight, but his memories ended with a small glass of clear liquid he had consumed in the mortal’s kitchen. Then Axel frowned, glancing back towards the window, and his words brought Roxas back to the problem at hand.

“Is that...my car alarm?” the redhead mumbled, and the angel immediately resumed his frantic race towards his brother.

“ _Help me_ , I need to get-“ Roxas began to repeat, but Axel snapped to attention at his strained plea.

“Outside. Right,” he called, chasing after the blonde and meeting him at the door. The human threw open the locks to his entrance and Roxas was out like a hound released to chase down its prey. When he skidded around the corner of the building and Ventus came into sight, his stomach dropped as he noticed the two humans standing near the front of the vehicle and muttering to themselves. No, _no,_ this was bad. He sprinted to the car, not even bothering to slow his speed for the mortals’ sake in his hurry to check on his twin. They’d already seen too much, he didn’t know how to explain-

“Sorry! Sorry guys, it’s my car,” Axel panted, jogging up to the scene and clicking something in his hand that made the car go silent. Roxas saw the man’s eyes widen as he took in the fallen angel, the impressive and completely visible wings, and the way Roxas was cradling the limp body while checking for signs of life; Axel sidled between the pair of mortals and his vehicle, blocking their view. “Our friend is...really into cosplay, and had a little too much to drink last night. We’ll take it from here.” He stepped towards them, forcefully herding them back to where ever they had come from, and Roxas found himself indescribably grateful for his charge’s actions. 

He had already seen that Ventus was breathing and, though unconscious, seemed uninjured...at least so far as he could tell with his twin’s human clothes on. The other angel had deep, shadow-like circles under his eyes that spoke of stress and sleeplessness, and looked haggard even in his unconscious state. _What could have happened to him?_ Roxas couldn’t imagine what could have turned his carefree brother into this weak, pitiful creature in his arms in such a short span on time, but it scared him a little. More than a little. Then Axel was back, almost level with the blonde because of his imposing height despite still having his feet planted on the ground.

“Can I help?” he murmured to Roxas, glancing down to Ven. “I think I can carry him, but...we should get him inside.” The angel nodded weakly, again immeasurably appreciative of the help of his charge. He shifted his brother carefully so that Axel could better reach him, and then let the man scoop his brother into his arms, cradling the small angel against his chest as he waited for Roxas to hop down from the roof of the car. Then they were hurrying back up to the redhead’s apartment, and Roxas got the door open for Axel to bring Ven in and take him back to the bedroom that they had just themselves left.

Roxas fussed over his brother the second Axel laid him down; he adjusted the other’s position and brushed his hair away from his face, and then tucked him in from the _front_ , leaving his sibling’s wings free. When he was finally satisfied that Ven was sleeping as peacefully as possible, he turned from the bed to see Axel lounging in the doorway, watching their interaction curiously. Questions flared back to life in his own mind, and he crept away from the bed to meet his charge in the hall, closing the door behind him.

He saw Axel opening his mouth to speak, but shook his head, stalking past the tall mortal towards the living room and letting the other man follow. When they got there, he turned, crossing his arms with a small frown.

“I’m sure you have some questions for me, and I have several for you as well, but first,” Roxas let his expression soften, if only slightly, “I wanted to thank you for helping me. I would not have been able to believably convince those people to leave as quickly as you were able to.” Axel grinned at him, looking pleased. He sauntered forward until he was almost within arms reach, winking at the shorter blonde.

“Any time,” he teased, and Roxas rolled his eyes. Before he could begin questioning his charge, however, the man yawned hugely. “Would you want a cup of coffee if I made some?” The blonde nodded, defensive stance sagging as he trailed the mortal to the kitchen and watched as the man began making the beverage Roxas had come to love. Soon he was cradling a steaming mug of the stuff and Axel was settling himself onto the couch. Roxas took a deep breath.

“Can you please fill me in on what happened last night?” the blonde asked hesitantly, taking a swig of his drink after the question to distract himself from the awkwardness. He couldn’t explain to the human why his memory was failing him; apparently, though, he didn’t need to.

“Yeah, I guessed you were pretty wasted there at the end. Well,” Axel paused, clearly trying to decide what to say, “what’s the last thing you remember?” Roxas winced; even the human could tell he’d been out of his right mind. Wonderful.

“We came back to your home so that we could talk more,” he answered slowly, getting brief flashes of memories as he spoke. The interior of a car, the messy living room, the kitchen counter. “You poured us both a drink in an exceptionally tiny cup?” Axel laughed warmly, and that brought back the ghost of a memory of that laugh, though he couldn’t remember why the mortal had been laughing. “That’s about it, though,” he huffed, frustrated at himself. He looked over at Axel in time to see him force his expression carefully blank.

“You didn’t miss too much after that,” the redhead muttered, sipping from his own cup. “We talked for a minute and then...” Axel hesitated, and Roxas felt a surge of guilt through his connection with his charge before the human continued, “you said some stuff I didn’t really understand and then basically passed out, so I put you to bed.” The rest seemed honest, but...Roxas didn’t like the way the pause and the guilt coincided.

“Why do I feel like that’s not the whole story?” the blonde asked, raising an eyebrow, and Axel chuckled nervously.

“Me first. The guy in the other room...those wings are _real,_ aren’t they?” The man was clearly avoiding answering, but Roxas figured it _was_ fair of him to ask for answers in return. He ave a tight smile and nodded. Axel’s eyes widened slightly, but he pressed on. “And the reason he looks basically identical to you is..?” Roxas smirked.

“Brothers. Twins,” he said, and then sighed. Axel was just going to ask the question next; he might as well get to be a _little_ dramatic about it. He willed away the illusion on his own wings and stretched them carefully, as they spanned the majority of the room. 

Roxas had expected the mortal to be fearful, or angry he’d been deceived, or horribly surprised at the very least, but as always the human surprised the angel. He stood up from the couch and approached with a curious expression. He circled the blonde completely once and then paused, just near Roxas’s right arm.

“No wonder you were so heavy. Can I...would it be weird if I touched one?” he asked, looking at the feathers eagerly. Roxas scowled, folding them tightly behind himself once again.

“I’ll decide after you tell me what it is you’re keeping from me,” Roxas said pointedly, and Axel grimaced.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” he hedged, looking uncomfortable, “I thought you came back with me because- well, it doesn’t matter, but I...kissed you. I’m starting to realize I misread things, but I thought you were into me.” He must have seen the shocked expression on the blonde, because he quickly added, “I didn’t do anything else, and I stopped as soon as I realized you didn’t- what’s wrong?” 

Roxas was frozen, immobile, eyes wide as his brain supplied one last partial memory; the mortal leaning down over him, lips moving against his in a way that had scared him for his own reaction to it. It was an overwhelming, burning pleasure that surely heralded his own downfall. Did Cloud and the other Guardians of Light already know about his shame? Would they send someone else to replace him because of this? Would he...be allowed to return home? His panic spiraled, but then there were large, warm hands on his shoulders, grounding him.

“Hey, I _swear_ I didn’t do anything else, okay?” Axel said soothingly, lowering his face until his emerald eyes were level with Roxas’s blue ones. That brought Roxas back from panic only for him to careen right into a defensive fury.

“You don’t _understand,_ ” the blonde hissed, shrugging off Axel’s hands. “There are _rules._ There are _consequences._ ” He began to pace the small room, running a hand up into his hair. How long would they take to act? If he was to be cast out, surely they wouldn’t take long. What...what would he _do_? And Ventus...he threw a pained look at the door behind which his brother lay. Then a small bark of laughter from the redhead surprised him into looking back. The human stood, hands on his hips, with a mischievous spark in his eye.

“Is that all you’re upset about?” he asked, sounding like he was teasing the blonde, “Because to be honest, I’d kinda like to do it again when you’re here for it.” Roxas felt like his eyes might bug out of his head. Was he _joking_? The angel’s mouth opened, but no reply came out. Axel’s grin grew. He reclaimed the distance Roxas’s pacing had put between them with just a few steps until he stood before the petite blonde with his arms crossed. “If there were no rules,” he purred, shifting another half step forward, “did you like it enough to let me do it again?” Roxas floundered, struggling to form a coherent thought as Axel moved even closer and a scent he almost recognized washed over him. He spluttered and stammered our half-formed words while Axel’s eyes shone triumphantly.

“I- you can’t- we- it’s-“ The words died as Roxas’s mouth went dry, and the mortal leaned down, bringing his face scant inches from the blonde’s.

“Please?” the man implored lowly, breath caressing Roxas’s lips in a whisper of what could be. The blonde wasn’t sure if he should be angry or offended or indignant and before his rational mind could decide, he felt himself tipping his head back and angling his face up towards Axel without conscious decision to do so. _What was he doing?_ There was a small part of himself screaming against this traitorous, shameful act, but Axel was closing the distance between them and the _need_ flowing from his charge was staggering and-

“Am I...interrupting something?” a blearily amused voice stopped Axel’s lips a heartbeat before they would have destroyed any chance at redemption Roxas had, and the angel nearly collapsed at the sense of loss he felt from both his charge and a stupid part of himself. Ventus was leaning heavily on the corner near the hallway, watching them and looking like he was holding back laughter. “Looks like I’ve missed some things since I last saw you, Roxas.”


	9. Chapter 9

As much as Vanitas had been smugly taunting Ventus with their connection, he was in no hurry to tell his own Master about it. No matter how happy his commander was about the tainted angel, he would surely punish Vanitas for compromising himself. But now that he was beginning to gain some of the blonde’s abilities...it would be better to be punished for being compromised than destroyed for harboring secrets. Luckily, the blonde Guardian’s scent had disappeared from around his target for the time being; he didn’t need to be accused of abandoning or risking his mission as well.

With those thoughts in mind, Vanitas opened up a Corridor of Darkness and headed for his Master. As was most often the case, Vanitas located him in his office at the head of the ‘Kennels,’ the ever so wonderful nickname given to the barracks that housed Seekers of Darkness with no current mission or still in training. Sephiroth _not_ being in his office or somewhere nearby would be a sure sign that his problems were bigger than Vanitas, anyways. As it were, he strolled into the office and waited just past the doorway for his silver-haired superior to acknowledge him. The One-Winged Angel took his time, finishing whatever he was working on before he finally looked up, narrowing his eyes in irritation at his visitor.

“You know better than to abandon your post. I’m disappointed,” he said, his voice deceptively mild. Vanitas stepped forward, dropping to kneel before his Master with his head bowed.

“Forgive me, but...certain events have occurred which necessitated I return to make a report,” Vanitas said tightly, hoping he was making the right call here. Sephiroth stood slowly from behind his desk and began to slowly pace around it towards Vanitas.

“Is that so?” Sephiroth asked coolly, stopping in front of Vanitas’s position and crossing his arms. “Then report.” The raven-haired demon nodded, remaining kneeling because he had not been told to rise but burning with resentment over it.

“There is a Guardian assigned to my target as well,” Vanitas began. “Didn’t appear to be much of a threat at all, but when we were interacting...I don’t remember all of the history and lore lessons, but...I may have forged a Dark Link. Like from back in the first Great War between Light and Dark.”

“Impossible,” Sephiroth snapped, an angry look flashing in his eyes. “I forged the last one myself, I _know_ what that would- What brought you to that conclusion?” His snarl was like the lash of a whip, and Vanitas felt himself tense, half-expecting a blow.

“He has a mark on his shoulder, I can sense him in ways beyond my usual capacity, I can communicate with him without needing to be present...and I think I’m beginning to intercede the connection he has with my target,” Vanitas spat out the last part, knowing that was the most damning bit; he was essentially admitting how long he’d taken to alert his Master. He didn’t dare lift his gaze higher than the silver-haired man’s boots, but he could almost _feel_ the eyes on him.

“I see,” Sephiroth hissed after a few seconds. “I need to consider the ramifications of such an action. The possibilities. For now, return to your post. I will send for you soon.” 

Vanitas knew a dismissal when he heard one and did _not_ want to stick around if he was being sent away without immediate consequence. He rose and swiftly exited the room, leaning back against the door once it had closed to collect himself. He _hated_ returning to this place. If he could get away with it, he’d never set foot- A voice, muffled by the door but audible when pressed up against it like he was, broke into his thoughts.

“Ah, Cloud. It’s been too long. How _are_ you?” Sephiroth’s voice was cutting despite the friendly words, and Vanitas fled as soon as heard them. 

He may not remember his history perfectly, but even a fool would remember that name.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things;
> 
> 1) my updates are DEAD rn, 5/6 people in my house are sick right now 😰😬😷
> 
> 2) I had a reader leave a comment on another fic and left me a discord handle to contact them with that did not work.  
> I tried, lovely reader 😭😩
> 
> To you and any other person who would like to talk to me about requests/collaborating/joining in one of my DnD campaigns, or just want to reach out, my email is   
> nowjkjkjklololol813@aol.com (I don’t want to post my discord handle but would email it to an individual) and I am very happy to discuss anything like that so please don’t hesitate to reach out, guys! ❤️

Ventus didn’t know what to make of the interaction between Roxas and his charge, but didn’t really feel he could say anything in judgement about it given the nature of his reason for seeking out his twin. So he bit his tongue and watched as his brother choked on his own mortification and the mortal straightened up, throwing Ven a look that was notably less than pleased.

“It was- I- We- He didn’t-“ Roxas sounded like his brain was malfunctioning, and Ventus couldn’t keep his lips from twitching into a smile. He winked at the red headed human and was pleased to see his expression shift from mild irritation to amusement.

“Ooh, looks like I _am_ interrupting. Hey, don’t mind me! Flying all night really takes its toll, I’ll just go back to be-eee!” Ventus squealed and quickly darted away from his twin, who had just launched himself across the room like a pouncing lion. Ven giggled madly, altering his course to hide behind the human, as a crash sounded through the room; Roxas had spread his wings to slow his trajectory and keep him from crashing into a wall, but the room was small and he knocked over a lamp. That didn’t stop him as he spun and readied himself for another leap, and Ventus used his charge as a shield, and then-

A white-hot flash of pain lanced through his arm and shoulder, and the blonde angel yelped before he could stop himself. He rubbed at the spot even as the pain began to recede, and it was followed by a grumbled thought from Vanitas in his head.

“Stop having fun. Too early for that,” the demon snarled blearily, as if he’d just been roused from sleep. 

“ _Rude,_ ” Ventus snapped back, not knowing if the other even heard him. The feeling of his presence faded just as quickly as the pain had, and Ven’s eyes refocused onto Roxas’s face, just a foot away from his own and filled with worry.

“Are you okay?” Roxas asked, all the playful fight gone out of him. He extended a hand to help Ventus up, at which point he realized he had sunk down to his knees when Vanitas had hurt him. 

“Fine,” Ven murmured, accepting the hand and getting to his feet. Both Roxas and the mortal looked at him skeptically.

“Wanna tell me what all that was, then? Who’s rude?” his twin questioned, and Ventus winced. Of course. He didn’t know if Vanitas heard him, but _luckily_ those two had. Perfect.

“That’s...why I came to find you, actually,” Ventus muttered, looking away. He hadn’t been quite prepared to bring it up just yet. He didn’t know where to begin. Ventus didn’t even know how much the human knew, he realized, and glanced at the man, who wore an expression of confusion but not panic or concern; clearly, he knew more than he should, at the very least. “What have you told him?” Ven asked with a tilt of his head towards the mortal. 

“Nothing!” Roxas nearly shouted defensively, then ground his teeth together. “Almost nothing. _This_ is nothing!” Ventus was a little surprised by the look of hurt that flashed across the redhead’s face before he smoothed it back out; if he knew _anything,_ surely it was that he was the center of Roxas’s very existence for at least the rest of his life, right? Roxas flicked a glance at his charge, too, clearly having felt the sudden emotional change, but he said nothing about it so neither did Ven.

“Then do we need to speak privately?” he asked the younger angel, but Axel interjected even as he turned away and sauntered towards the hallway.

“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m gonna take a shower. My living room is all yours.” He disappeared, and soon the sound of running water filled the silence left in his wake. Ventus gave Roxas an intensely curious look, but his brother was clearly not willing to be sidetracked.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, and Ven sighed loudly before perching himself on the arm of the couch to sit.

“There’s a Seeker on my charge as well,” Ventus began slowly, and he saw his brother bristling from the thought. He grimaced; Roxas didn’t know how bad this was about to get. “It’s...their pack lead. He-“

“ _Vanitas?_ ” Roxas interjected in a hiss, and Ventus nodded with a sigh.

“He’s...he...” Ventus bit his lip, and then just went for it before he could over-analyze himself into silence, “he _touched_ me and it left some sort of mark on me and I tried to ignore it but now he’s hurting me and talking in my head and I think he’s- he’s interfering with my link to my charge.” The words flowed from him in a hurried stream, and Roxas’s eyes grew wider and wider until Ven finished and he decided his brother had to be in physical pain from the expression he wore. There was a long pause in which it looked like Roxas’s head might explode as he tried to figure out what to say first, but eventually he found his voice...loudly.

“What did Cloud say?” he exclaimed, and Ven saw his eyes searching for a visible mark before they found Ventus’s chagrined grimace and he gasped softly. “You haven’t told him?!”

“I don’t want them to...kick me out. Or take Terra away.” Ven dropped his head, refusing to look at his brother as he spoke. He felt ashamed. Defeated. Weak. Before Roxas asked, he shoved up his sleeve to reveal as much as he could of the solid black shape and the darkness curling out from it. His brother was at his side in a heartbeat, clutching his arm as he examined it.

“What is it?” Roxas asked quietly, transfixed, and Ventus sighed.

“I don’t know. I was hoping you might. Vanitas keeps talking about it like it’s something I _should_ know.” He felt his lips curl into a snarl at the name, and Roxas mirrored him.

“That’s...I’ve never heard of something like that. How- _who_ would we even ask about that if not Cloud?” Roxas’s grip was crushingly tight, so Ventus _felt_ him jump in surprise when another voice joined the conversation.

“You know, strangely enough, I might be able to help you out,” purred the red-haired mortal, and both of them whipped their heads around to see a completely dry Axel leaning against the doorframe with nothing on but a towel draped around his hips, unashamedly eavesdropping on their conversation. He smirked at their surprised expressions, pushing off from the wall to approach them. “Yeah, you guys talking was much more interesting than the shower, sorry. But I do think I know how to find your answer.” Roxas frowned, looking like he was about to start chastising his charge, but Ventus interjected before his brother could offend the potential savior.

“How?!” he asked quickly, also extremely curious as to how the human thought he could offer assistance. Roxas threw him a dirty look, while Axel smiled smugly.

“Friend of a friend, this girl everyone calls the Witch. She’s a book nerd obsessed with the occult and stuff like that...if anyone would know anything about crazy angel shit, it would be her. That’s what you guys are, right?” Axel paused, lifting a brow almost challengingly at them, and Ventus realized with a shock that despite Roxas being here with Axel, _Ven had blown his cover._ His brother must have revealed himself after he and his charge had found Ventus. Axel really _didn’t_ know anything. That made the tension he had walked in on earlier even more confusing, but Ven tucked that one away for later.

“Guardians of Light,” he said at the same time Roxas huffed out a ‘yes,’ and then both brothers frowned at each other while Axel chuckled warmly. Whatever he felt made Roxas break away to glance at the man, tilting his head curiously.

“Well, let me go take that shower and then we can leave. You two play nice,” Axel teased with a smirk before sauntering away. Roxas was frowning after him, but something about the way he was looking at the mortal made Ventus feel as if he shouldn’t be present. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, ruffling his wings.

“You know, I always thought you watched them from afar. I didn’t know you were like, directly involving yourself in their lives. Even I don’t usually do that.” Roxas flinched at his words, hanging his head. The words he spoke in response were small, yet still Ventus heard them.

“This was the first time and I...think it was a mistake.”


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Axel returned to the living room, the blonde twins had both hidden their wings again and looked just as human as he did, or at least Roxas hoped. He no longer felt as sure of what he thought he knew. Being in the mortal’s car, which was far too small to accommodate their wings and forced both angels to the edge of their seats, on their way to discuss their lore and history with another human, certainly didn’t help matters.

Axel parked his car out in front of a tiny, quiet bookstore sandwiched between the two much larger, nicer, and more modern spaces on either side of it. Roxas looked at it skeptically; he didn’t really know what he had expected when he pictured where they would find a ‘witch,’ but a dusty bookstore on the verge of extinction in the middle of the city had not been it.

“Come on,” the mortal encouraged, gathering his keys and exiting the vehicle. “It’s still early enough she’ll probably make time to talk to you guys.” Roxas glanced at his brother, who shrugged and followed Axel out of the car, leaving Roxas to trail after them with a sigh. He did NOT like his charge getting involved in all of this. The redhead led the way into the quiet shop, glancing around over stacks of books and shelves before giving up and calling out, “Hey, Naminé!”

“I’ll be right with you,” a faint, delicately feminine voice drifted to them from somewhere in the back, and soft silence fell again. Roxas peered around interestedly, but the shop just seemed to be full of old books on every subject under the sun. Most appeared to be well-used over the years, while others were pristine and shiny and new; the scent of dust and paper filled the small shop.

After only a moment, a very petite woman came around from some stacks and approached Axel with a smile. Everything about her was pale, airy, and light; from her white blonde hair and porcelain skin to her impeccably white dress and clear blue eyes, she looked like a sunbeam brought to life. Her sweet voice matched her face as she greeted the familiar human.

“Axel, I thought that was you! It’s been too long. And who have-“ The woman froze as her eyes fell on the twins, and she seemed to notice something about them that startled her, but it was at that exact moment that _Roxas_ also noticed something about _her_. 

The woman was entirely blank. He could sense no trace of either light or darkness within the tiny mortal, and that shook him to his core. Humans always had _something_ of one or the other! That was how it worked! That was how their souls knew where to return once they had left the mortal...if this girl were to suddenly perish, what would happen to her? He glanced uneasily at Ven, who also looked concerned, and then at the human Axel had brought them to, who gave him another shock by softly smiling and bowing her head briefly.

“Welcome, Guardians. It’s a pleasure.” Roxas felt his eyes go wide as Ven’s jaw dropped at his side.

“E-excuse me?” he finally managed, but the girl just kept her serene smile in place while Axel actually began to laugh out loud.

“Let me introduce you to Naminé. Like I said, if anyone was gonna know about you two, it was her.” Naminé inclined her head again, and then threw Axel a look, shaking her head.

“Only you could be so rude to a pair of Guardians. Is one of them yours?” That seemed to throw Axel, and he fell silent with a confused look of contemplation. Her words had the added effect of shaking Roxas back to the moment, and he was quick to change the subject.

“How do you know what we are?” he asked, looking at her closely. The sanitary lack of light or dark to her was making him feel edgy. Ventus finally got himself together enough to compose his expression and gave her a much more curious look than Roxas was leveling at her. She turned, laughing lightly, and began drifting towards the back of the store, inspecting the spines of various books as she went.

“I know you can tell I’m different. In my own way, I can tell you are, too. The way I tell isn’t really important; other humans wouldn’t notice, don’t worry.” Roxas was following her, trying to see which books she was passing over, but he could never seem to tell which had caught her interest as she flitted gracefully forward. 

“Forgive me, but don’t you need to know why we came to see-“ Ventus began, but Naminé stopped suddenly, stretching up onto her toes to reach a book on a high shelf. She pulled down a thick, velvet-bound book with elegant, gold letters scrawled across the front.

“‘Angels in Flight,’” Naminé murmured, looking up at both of them solemnly as she held the book out. “You didn’t need to tell me. I can tell where you’ve been marked.” Ven snatched it from her hand whining to flip through the pages as he read at an inhuman speed. Roxas frowned thoughtfully at the blonde woman, more confused and curious than before. What _was_ she? Her eyes shifted to meet his, and she gave a small smile.

“Perhaps we should give him a moment,” she said, tilting her head, and Roxas nodded before following her silently towards where Axel was standing, having stayed by the door rather than follow them back. Roxas watched her dig in her pockets before offering the redhead a small card with a sweet smile. “Would you please go get everyone some coffee, Axel? My treat. There’s a place a few shops down.” He gave her a long look, but her innocent expression never wavered, and after a moment he took the card with a grin and then left the store. As soon as the door swung shut behind Axel, Naminé turned expectantly towards Roxas.

“I will gladly help you however I am able, but in exchange I do have some questions for you,” she said, crossing her arms. Roxas raised his eyebrow. 

“What do you wish to know?” he asked, but his sneaking suspicion about her motives was quickly confirmed when she spoke with a beaming smile.

“Are you Axel’s Guardian?” she asked without hesitation, and the angel inwardly groaned. There were a pair of armchairs creating a reading book nearby, and he sank into one while Naminé took the other.

“Why do you ask? Do you know what it means?” Roxas questioned, and the girl nodded.

“Yes, at least as much as my research has led me to understand...and I’d like your answer before I give mine,” she returned, and Roxas couldn’t come up with a good reason not to tell her.

“Yes,” he huffed, crossing his arms with a frown when Naminé grew very somber. “Now tell me why.”

“I have something to give you, before you leave. I think it belongs with you.” He leaned forward interestedly, ready to ask, but she shook her head. “You have more pressing questions right now.”

“Fine,” Roxas said, quickly changing course, “Do you know what’s wrong with Ventus?” Namine nodded, looking sad.

“The book will give the full account, but...he and the demon that set it are linked, joined like he would with his human but more fully. They will share it until one perishes, for now one cannot exist without the other. The last time one was made, at least as far as I know, it was between a Guardian and a Seeker with an animosity between them so great that they began a war since they could do no real harm to one another without harming themselves.” Roxas blinked, shaking his head. How could that be true? There was no way a guardian could have... _what_ war?

“How is this possible?” he finally managed, and Naminé closed her eyes.

“It was said that some part of their souls recognized one another, mirror images, and could no longer exist apart. They never found a solution, and will remain connected until the day one meets their fate.” The room was completely silent for a long moment as Roxas stared unseeingly, mind racing, and then a cheerful voice started up the second the door to the shop opened.

“Your errand boy has returned with the requested delivery,” Axel announced, carrying in a cardboard tray full of steaming cups. He went to Namine first, passing her a drink and her card, and then turned to Roxas, handing the blonde a cup which he accepted gratefully. “I didn’t know if he wanted anything, but I got one anyway,” the mortal said sheepishly, inclining his head towards where Ventus had remained to read as he took a cup of his own and then set the tray and last drink on a small table nearby. Roxas blinked, nodding slowly as he tried to return from his thoughtful moment.

“That’s...thank you. I don’t know if he would drink it or not,” Roxas admitted as he sipped his own coffee. Did Ventus indulge in mortal enjoyments? They weren’t supposed to, really, but...then again, with recent discoveries taken into consideration, he wasn’t really sure how well he knew his brother at the moment. As if summoned, Ventus himself strolled into view, brow furrowed as he flipped through the last of the pages in the book. He drifted past Axel and Roxas without sparing either of them a glance and stopped directly in front of Namine, closing the book with a snap.

“How did this come to be in your possession?” he demanded, looking at the girl sternly. “Who could have had such information?” Instead of looking intimidated by the angel’s seriousness, Namine smiled gently and patted his arm.

“My family is special in the way Guardians are, or Seekers of Darkness, but rather than protecting the light or the darkness, we serve the truth. The way things were, they way they are, the way they might be. Neither of the hosts of light nor dark can sense us, so my family has been observing events firsthand since we first came to be. I believe that edition in question was written by my great-great-grandmother, but I’d have to look up my genealogy to make sure.” Both Ventus and Roxas stared at her in stunned silence, and it was surprisingly Axel who broke the moment, throwing the hand not holding his drink up in a dramatic gesture.

“Of course! I’m over here picking angels up in bars and scraping them off the roof of my car, why wouldn’t you be a fantasy character, too? I’m starting to think I may have had one drink too many last night and I’m actually just having a crazy dream after blacking out somewhere. Should I be worried right now?” Axel ran his hand through his hair, and the waves of frustration rolling off of him hit Roxas hard enough to shake him from his stupor.

“Well, you’d see me either way, wouldn’t you?” the blonde grumbled, and his words caused Ventus and Naminé to giggle. The tension dissipated quickly as Axel gave him a sheepish look. 

“Alright, point taken. No sympathy for the human, then,” the redhead pouted playfully, but Roxas could still feel his swirling emotions beneath the surface. It made him feel a little guilty his charge was involved in this, but they never would have found Naminé without him. While Roxas was musing, he heard Ventus quietly engaging the girl again.

“Could I...borrow this?” he murmured, “There are some sections I want to-“

“Just make sure to return it,” she interjected kindly, patting his hand. Then she turned to look at Roxas. “Let me go get one more thing before you leave, I’ll only be a moment.” Namine turned and quickly disappeared into her books, returning shortly with a thick, hardcover novel that she pushed into the angel’s hands. The cover had no writing or illustration of any kind, and neither did the spine. When he went to open it, curious as to what could be written on the pages, her cool, thin fingers on his wrist stopped him; although he could sense nothing from her, he would have to be a complete idiot not to recognize her silent command to stop.

“It was...lovely to meet you,” Roxas murmured, inclining his head to her, and Ventus did the same.

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge,” Ventus added, and then the pair of them turned to leave, Axel following after giving the tiny blonde woman a huge hug and a cheerful wave. Axel led them back to his car, and the trio entered the vehicle.

“Where to now?” the human asked, turning in his seat to look at the two angels.


	12. Chapter 12

Vanitas watched Terra, and he knew he was winning the fight; the scent of darkness around the mortal was eclipsing the final traces of his light. He should be happy, closing in on his prey, but...

The club he had found was in a nicer part of town, not known for much trouble. Vanitas was working to change that, darkness and bitterness leaking from him and into the very atmosphere, and while the humans had no way of knowing that, they were definitely reacting to the phantom energy. 

There Vanitas was at the bar, casually chatting up a girl and distracting her from the man next to her, who slipped something into her drink. There he was outside the bathrooms, giving free pills to people before they went in. On the dance floor, spinning a girl away from her partner and grinding intimately with her in front of him and then disappearing when the pair started fighting loudly. Near the DJ booth, screaming on a fight after handing one of the participants a switchblade a moment before the fight had broken out. 

Rage, agony, despair...darkness consumed everything in his wake. Vanitas wasn’t sure he’d ever condemned so many so quickly before, and yet it did nothing to satisfy the fury clawing at him. Vanitas left the club with a heavily inebriated woman, pushing her into an alley he passed and right into a small group of men thinking terrible thoughts who were smoking there.

His hands jammed into his pockets, he prowled through the evening pedestrians, locating a bar with pulsing punk rock pouring from the doors. He bared his teeth, feeling the bass thudding along with his pulse. If destroying mortals and spreading darkness wasn’t enough, maybe he should give in to some of the human methods for ‘blowing off steam.’ He veered sharply, shoving the bouncer hard in the chest as he pushed his way into the densely crowded space.

The main floor was the bar, some booths along one wall, an open space for lounging or dancing, and a wide set of stairs leading down. That was where the booming base and stench of sweaty humans emanated from, and that was where Vanitas headed, snatching a bottle right out of the hand of a girl who protested loudly at his theft as he went. He ignored her, descending the stairs into darkness and flashing lights and crowded, perspiring, writhing forms. The band on stage was screaming into the mic, driving their audience wild and inciting the surging mosh pit to greater heights. It was lovely chaos, and Vanitas tried to throw himself into it fully, diving right into the mosh pit and swinging along with the mortals. He let his claws come out, and knew anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with them would suffer much more than they would with a usual wound.

The band tired before he did, calling a break in their set. Vanitas growled, roughly shoving the human closest to him as he felt the fury itching beneath his skin. He needed something _else._ As his wild eyes darted around the room, they fell on a head of blonde hair and everything in the space seemed to still. When he truly looked at the mortal who had caught his attention, the dissimilarity between him and the angel Vanitas had briefly mistaken him for enraged the demon. The hair was a little too dark, the skin marred from wrists to beneath his shirt with heavy tattoo work, the eyes green instead of blue. A nearly brown eyebrow lifted as the human caught his stare and held it, expressing his interest clearly enough even if Vanitas hadn’t been able to hear his thoughts of the two of them fucking. His lips curled instinctively over sharp canines in disgust, but he quickly smoothed his expression into one of smug confidence and made his way over, eyes blazing. How dare this mortal make him think of that cursed angel again, when he was putting forth such an effort to forget him.

“Come with me.” He could barely hold back his powers from ripping the human to shreds, and though he’d just meant to ensure the mortal would obey, he obliterated the blonde’s willpower with the command. The man peeled himself away from his friends without hesitation and did not respond to their calls as he wove his way through the crowd at Vanitas’s heels, following him through the establishment and out the doors. “Take me somewhere,” Vanitas snarled, and the blonde nodded blankly, starting off down the sidewalk towards a towering hotel a little further down the strip. He entered the lobby, Vanitas sweeping in behind him, and paid for a room while the demon lingered behind him like an irritable shadow. In no time at all, they were in an elevator taking them up to a room, and then Vanitas all but kicked the door in after his prey had unlocked it for him.

“I’m-“ the human began, but Vanitas held up a hand and the blonde’s mouth snapped shut.

“Strip,” Vanitas hissed, and the mortal obeyed, eyes wide with fear but unable to help himself. Once the task was done Vanitas stalked towards him, circling the nude, shivering blonde like a hunting animal. Not good enough, not even _remotely_ as clean a scent of the angel, but Vanitas would make do. He smiled to himself as he shrugged off the illusion of his mortal attire and let the mortal scream for a second before a quick snap of his fingers silenced the delicious sound. “Now, on your knees.” A thud followed his order as the man sank down to the ground, but his eyes were rolling in panic. Green eyes.

With a snarl, Vanitas willed a new illusion into place, this time over his victim. The mortal’s hair was lighter now, skin clear save for a single, dark exception, he sported a glorious pair of fluffy wings, and most satisfyingly, his eyes were the deep, familiar blue Vanitas had wanted. A wicked smile bloomed as the knot within him lessened by a fraction. 

“Hello, Ventus,” he purred, drifting towards the kneeling angel. Confusion and panic flashed in those pools of sapphire, but when he opened his mouth, Vanitas shoved three fingers quickly into the wet warmth before the stupid mortal could ruin his fantasy. “Hush now, there are better uses for that pretty mouth.” He thrust his fingers harshly in and out a few times, then stopped and withdrew to grip the blonde’s jaw with bruising force. “Don’t speak again,” he whispered, power surging in his words to ensure obedience, and then he released his Ventus.

He quickly willed his Seeker’s uniform away, baring himself, and then licked his lips as he resumed his stalking around the blonde. Ventus was terrified, hands trembling where he had them pressed to his thighs. The dark haired male drew close behind the angel, quivering feathers tickling his skin as he wound his claws into soft blonde hair, fascinated by the harsh contrast between the black of his fingertips and the pale spikes. Ventus shivered, remaining silent.

“I know how to make you feel,” he snapped, suddenly gripping the hair and yanking Ventus’s head back, baring the column of his throat. “I bet you’ve followed all the rules, but _I’ve_ enjoyed the pleasures the mortal world has to offer.” He knew Ventus would never have sullied his perfect Guardian status just for a roll in the sheets, would never have explored the body he wore for the sake of physical desire. Vanitas leaned down, whispering into the angel’s ear, “I’m going to show you pain, too. But before we get to that part, I’m gonna show you how to make _me_ feel good.” He released his grip on the blonde’s hair, shoving his head forward and away as he stood again and moved casually around to the front of the angel.

Ventus was cowering before him, knees still firmly planted but arms drawn in towards his chest, hugging himself. The mortal was giving a wonderful performance of unbridled terror, that was one perk. Vanitas felt his body respond to the sight, and he sauntered forward. 

“Open your mouth,” he crooned, using a single, sharp-edged finger to lift Ventus’s chin. The blonde did as he was commanded, and Vanitas wasted no time.

Vanitas left the hotel room hours later, closing the door behind himself and whistling softly as he strolled towards the elevator. He felt... not _better,_ but more in control. The sex hadn’t been enough, no matter how violent it got. When that hadn’t worked, Vanitas finally decided to unleash his rage, stripping all the illusions from the barely-together mortal before roaring furiously at the loss of his target and then shredding the prey he did have. That had calmed him, finally. At least enough to get back to work. 

Vanitas opted to walk the return trip, thinking back on his encounter. He had no real explanation, even to himself, for his actions. He didn’t even know what it was he truly wanted. Though...now that he’d seen it, he wouldn’t mind having the angel looking up at him with those lips wrapped around him again. He shook away the idea with a snarl and quickened his pace as he felt the stirrings of that itch from earlier. His dissatisfaction grew with every step he took, and by the time he’d reached the temporary den he’d made for himself, he was seething mad again. That was only made worse when he noticed the scent of another Seeker on his turf. He snarled, approaching the other quickly and purposefully. When he caught sight of the demon, he scowled deeply, not a big fan of his company. 

“Xehanort,” he greeted in a sneer as he approached the a Seeker. His pack mate nodded, unsmiling and formal.

“Vanitas. Master Sephiroth has sent me to relieve you of this post and send you to him at once. There’s a new directive.” That stopped Vanitas in his tracks. His words made no sense. 

“What? Why?” he tried to ask scathingly, but his questions were almost shocked even to his own ears. Xehanort smirked at him, crossing his arms.

“We’re the first wave of a new war, you and I. Sephiroth is surely going to explain it all to you as he did me, but we’re now targeting those with a Guardian. We’re taking possession of the mortal, yet the angel won’t return for a new assignment, if you follow my meaning. Sephiroth is giving the orders to launch the attack providing you and I do our parts correctly. I’m to take this one, presumably so you can take the Guardian. Why don’t you run home to Master and find out?” Vanitas backed away slowly without a word, keeping his wide eyes on the sneering demon for a long while before opening a Corridor of Darkness and turning into it, setting off to the Kennels once again.


	13. Chapter 13

Axel ended up driving around the city aimlessly while the pair of angels talked in his back seat, shamelessly eavesdropping on their fantastical conversation. Ventus was explaining what he’d read in Namine’s book, about some crazy war between angels and demons or something; or rather, between light and darkness? They were using terms like ‘Guardians’ and ‘host’ and ‘Seekers’ that he was only vaguely following along with, and were talking more about the light-versus-dark stuff than like singing in angelic choirs or the sort of mental images that attending church in his childhood had given him, but he supposed people could have gotten it wrong. How would they know what angels did? The thought made Axel let out an almost hysterical giggle, which he silenced immediately as the pair in his backseat both threw him a look.

“Something funny?” Roxas hummed, a slight crease between his brows as if he was worried about the redhead’s state of mind. Axel shook his head, focusing on his driving. In the rear view mirror, he saw Roxas shrug and turn back towards his companion, but noticed Ventus did not drop his gaze and instead met Axel’s eyes.

“Here,” he said abruptly to Roxas, pushing the book into his brother’s lap. “This is the passage I want you to read for yourself.” As soon as Roxas was focused on reading, Axel noticed Vanitas brush his hand vaguely through the air like he was swatting a fly and Roxas became almost...hazy. Less defined. Before the redhead could say anything about it, Ventus smirked. “He’s gonna be really focused on reading for a moment. He won’t notice he can’t hear us.” Axel raised an eyebrow curiously at the angel’s reflection, intrigued.

“What’s up?” he asked, watching the road as he executed a turn to distract himself. 

“The energy between you two is very hard to read. What is your relationship with my brother?” The human winced, his desire for the blonde seeming almost villainous as he thought about how to answer, but Ven glanced desperately at Roxas before frowning. “Don’t stress yourself over it, I’m not your judge. He’s only going to remain absorbed so long as we don’t give him a reason to pay attention to us. Stay calm.” Axel fought with himself, containing the surprise and curiosity and awkwardness until he was leveled out again.

“He saved me, once. I asked the bartender to point him out if he ever came back in, and last night he did. Thought he was cute, so I invited him back home with me. He was really drunk and fell asleep, and I woke up the next morning to him rushing to help you. That’s it.” He breathed out, pushing back his memories and fluttering feelings to stay grounded. Ventus cocked his head, seeming to puzzle over something.

“So you don’t know...anything, really,” Axel heard him murmur, and then hum lowly. “His reactions to you are fascinating. I don’t want you to let him go back to watching from the shadows. So I’m going to tell you a few things.” Axel’s brain stumbled over the ‘watching from the shadows’ part, but he nodded, and Ventus continued. “Guardians watch over people, keep them safe. He’s looking out for you. In all the time I’ve known him, though, he’s never reached out for contact for any other reason; there’s something about you that’s different.” Then Ventus scowled, features darkening. “Some scary stuff is going on in our world, and I don’t know if it will affect Roxas or not, but if it does...just don’t let him put up walls between you. Watch his back. Okay?” Axel nodded, feeling like he wasn’t understanding the full significance of what Ventus was saying but got enough of it. 

“Before you let go of whatever you did to keep our conversation quiet, I’ve been wondering something. From some of our earlier conversation, Roxas made it seem like your boss or whatever was keeping close tabs on you, rules to follow and such. But _you_ seem to have been breaking some rules - no offense - and you don’t seem to be dealing with anyone breathing down your neck about it.” Axel let the words hang there, no real question asked, but enough of one conveyed by his words. Ventus met his eyes in the rear view mirror, and the blonde’s lips twitched into a smile.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were thinking about breaking some rules with my brother,” he teased the mortal, and Axel gave him a somewhat chagrined smile in return. “We have rules, and we have consequences for breaking rules, but...you’re right. No one has come for me, and I can’t really tell you why. I sorta figured they would have.” Ventus shrugged, and Axel nodded a second time. Then the angel moved his hand once more, and Roxas was clearly visible again.

The car remained quiet for a few moments while all of its occupants were thinking hard. Axel was aware that something clearly much larger than he could fathom was going on in their world, but he guiltily couldn’t help but think about the night before. About if Roxas would try to stay away from him now, or if maybe he’d get a chance to try that kiss again. He really hoped it would be the latter. The more he thought about it, the more he let his mind wander to what the next time could be like, until after just a few moments, Roxas looked up from the book and gave him a disapproving frown.

“What?” Axel asked in the most innocent tone he could manage. He didn’t know why he was getting such a look, but was immediately glad Roxas couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Roxas opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to think better of it and turned to his brother.

“So this war,” he began, and Axel went back to his own thoughts as the theme of their conversation was back to making little sense to him. He kept driving, but eventually he found himself on the familiar roads near his home, and decided to head back towards his apartment to let them keep talking there. 

Once he’d stopped the car in his usual parking space, the two blondes got out and followed him inside, still deeply locked into their conversation. Axel let them take the couch and went to make himself a drink and get something to eat from his pantry, and then he sat down and loaded up a video game on mute to keep himself busy while they were preoccupied.

After a long while, the angels’ voices went quiet. When Axel glanced away from the screen, he saw them both inspecting the mark on Ventus’s arm. Roxas was biting his lip, looking pained, but it was nothing like the agony that twisted his twin’s face. It seemed to be almost pulsing with darkness. Axel jumped to his feet in an instinctive reaction, wanting to help, but without looking up Roxas spoke to him softly.

“I don’t think there’s anything you or I could do,” he murmured, and Ven’s eyes screwed shut, nodding.

“He’s calling me back. Threatening to come here if I don’t.” A few seconds later, and the mark seemed to return to normal, and Ventus sagged. “I don’t even understand how he’s doing that if he’s supposed to share my pain,” Axel heard him grumble under his breath before sitting up straighter and looking at Roxas. “Guess I’ll go see what he wants. At least he can’t criticize me for being uninformed now.” Roxas frowned deeply, but Axel jumped in before he could answer.

“Why don’t we make this dickwad come to us?” Axel growled, clenching his fists. “Couldn’t we do something? Make him get rid of that thing?” Roxas have him a pitying look, and Ven shook his head.

“According to your friend’s text and what the Seeker said, it’s a permanent link. On the other hand, he can’t really do much more than intimidate me, can he? So I’ll just go to him rather than introduce him to Roxas and...well, you.” Roxas scowled at his words, and Axel mirrored the expression, but neither seemed able to come up with a good argument. Ven gave them a gentle smile. “I’ll check back in tomorrow. Or the day after. I want to see Terra, too.” His expression became heartbreaking for a second before he snapped his smile back into place and stood.

“I understand,” Roxas hummed, sounding less than pleased, but got up and pulled his brother into a hug. “Just make it soon, so I’m not waiting and worrying.” Ven gave him a joking salute, and then turned to Axel. Though no words were spoken, Axel knew he was trying to remind him of what they’d talked about, and he gave his own two-fingered salute in return. That seemed to be enough for Ven, who turned and left without another word.

The room was silent once the click of the closing door had faded, and Roxas turned to face the redhead, taking a deep breath. He was probably going to try to leave - not that Axel had any intention of that happening. He gave the blonde a wink, turning to stroll back to his console and retrieving a second controller. He tossed it to Roxas, who seemed to catch it reflexively.

“Sounds like we’ve got some time to kill, then, don’t we? Let’s play a game.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you see here? I’ve got more!
> 
> Finished:  
> There’s An App For That  
> Into The Unknown  
> Discord Required  
> In progress:  
> Angel With A Shotgun  
> Got It Memorized?  
> A Pirate’s Life For Me  
> Reddit Nosleep Thread
> 
> Plus more to come! ❤️


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